Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for giving me the opportunity to speak on this issue tonight, and I also thank my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's horrible decision to reject affirmative action in college admissions. Last month, the Court ruled that affirmative action programs and college admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but that ruling opposes decades of Supreme Court decisions that said just the opposite. They said that the use of race as an admissions factor was consistent with the 14th Amendment. In 1978, the Court said that institutions of higher learning had the right to pursue a diverse student body to advance academic freedom, and they could consider race as a factor to evaluate college applications if it was one of many factors. In 2003, the Court reaffirmed this ruling because student diversity is a compelling interest in education. In addition, these policies helped counter the historical racism that denied educational opportunities to African Americans and other minorities, and it was working. In public universities nationwide, minority enrollment increased when race was one factor of admissions. These minority students equaled or exceeded the successes of their White peers in a variety of academic fields when they graduated.…”